It is common practice in a manufacturing or industrial environment to provide overhead light fixtures arranged in a pattern to assure illumination of a wide work area there beneath. Other open areas requiring overhead fixtures include gymnasiums or the like. Spaced apart light fixtures are connected in a suspension arrangement on overhead cross beams or other fixed infrastructure with each assembly having a box-like base defining a central downwardly facing socket for supporting a high wattage light bulb. Fastened to the under surface of the box and circumjacent the light bulb is a pan-like dome-shaped reflector which spreads outwardly in a downward direction toward its circular lower edge. The reflector is disposed to direct light from the light bulb in a spreading pattern that uniformly illuminates a broad work area.
A light fixture assembly of the type described requires periodic servicing, particularly because the usable life of the light bulb is limited. It is not uncommon for such a light bulb to shatter during use such that glass shards from the light bulb body are scattered down upon the work area and upon workers and machinery located in the fragment path. Depending upon the nature of the work activity being performed subjacent the light fixture, tools or equipment components often strike the light fixture from below and will often smash the light bulb so that replacement is required.